Review of Drive: Multiplier Mayhem by NetEnt

This one’s for the boys. NetEnt’s Drive: Multiplier Mayhem is a full of fast cars, intense racing and cinematic action. The game revolves around street races, much like Fast and Furious and Need for Speed. The theme isn’t just for visual purposes. Trigger the free spins and you’ll actually find yourself in the middle of a street race! You’ll race against other opponents, collect Nitro symbols and rack up cash. Well, let’s buckle up and put the pedal to the metal!

Gameplay

Let’s go over the game specs first. Drive: Multiplier Mayhem is a 5-reel, 3-row video slot. There are 15 fixed paylines. The minimum bet is 15p per spin and you can raise the bet up to £75. The theoretical return to player rate is 96.7%, which is a fair payout rate. The paytable offers wins up to 750,000 coins in a single spin. All in all, these stats speak of a reliable and promising slot game.

The reels is loaded with symbols of the four racers, a car and metallic alphabets. The most exciting symbol would be the Multiplier Wilds. These are the ones that look like car speedometers. First, they complete paylines by substituting for other symbols, except for Scatter and Nitro. More importantly, they multiply the size of each win.

The size of the multipliers depend on its position on the reel – multipliers on reel 1 has a 1x multiplier value, those on reel 2 has a 2x value; and so on. It is possible to get few multipliers at a time, during which the multipliers are multiplied. Imagine getting a multiplier on every reel – that’s 1 x 2 x 3 x 4 x 5 = 120x multiplier! I know, I know… it’s a longshot to count on 120x multipliers appearing. You’ll be happy to know that 6-10x multipliers occur very regularly. All you need are combinations like 2 and 3; or 2 and 5.

Features

The racing action begins when you gather three Scatter symbols anywhere on the reels. This activates 10 free spins. The free spins round starts with a race against Twitch, your first opponent. You’ll win this race with your eyes closed, since Twitch has nothing on Jette (your character). Now, the free spins commences. These spins are pimped-out versions of the base game. There are Nitro symbols to collect; collect three to level up and race the next opponent.

Once you accrue three Nitro symbols on your Nitro-meter, you’ll face your second opponent. Hamaki is the guy with two slash-scars across his face and a heavily tattooed arm. Win the race and you’ll get an additional four free spins. Once you unlock Level 3 and 4, you’ll win Overlay Multiplier Wilds too, which multiplies all wins by 2 or 3x.

Performance

The graphics in this game are pretty slick. It’s a cross between Fast and Furious Tokyo Drift and Grand Theft Auto; city lights coupled with punk characters. Besides the slick animations, I was really impressed by the husky engine-revving sounds and overall music composition. What would really complete the game though are some actual street-race footage and sexier cars. The races last about a second and all you really see is the city scenery speeding by. It’d be way more fun if they showed the cars drifting (or even crashing :).

Unique Features

There is no shortage of new ideas at the NetEnt headquarters. Drive: Multiplier Mayhem is a truly fresh and innovative slot. I love how they’ve combined elements of racing games with slots. Instead of using Nitro to overtake other drivers and improve your position in the race, you’re using it to boost your cash and become rich.

Conclusion

Drive: Multiplier Mayhem is a thrilling slot game. True to form, NetEnt has given its players a visual treat. It’s not just the cars that’ll get your adrenaline going though, the game’s algorithm is pretty intense too. For one, it’s a high-variance slot, with really sizeable wins every ten spins or so. Then, there’s the exciting Multiplier Wilds and Nitro-boosted Free Spins. Both car lovers and slot players will get a kick out of playing this game.